to it. Not with such a big secret hanging over her head.
It wasn’t Kai, though. It was Brie.
“Hey,” Diane answered.
“Hey, girl. Just checking in. You feeling any better?”
“I am. Thanks.” She hesitated. It would be a relief to tell someone about the pregnancy, but it also didn’t seem right to let others know before Kai. For the time being, she’d have to keep the news to herself.
“What are you doing now? Want to get breakfast?”
The mere mention of breakfast was all it took for Diane’s stomach to rumble. Had she had anything to eat that morning? She didn’t think so, and suddenly she felt ravenous.
“I do need to eat.” She bit her bottom lip. She was already at Kai’s, though, and didn’t want to waste time by leaving and coming back. He always had single-serve yogurts in the fridge. She’d settle with grabbing one of those.
“I hear a ‘but’ coming on,” Brie said.
“Yeah,” Diane sighed. “I’m at Kai’s. I’m about to get started on this mural. Finally.”
“You’re at Kai’s?”
“Uh-huh.”
There was silence, like maybe Brie hadn’t heard her.
“Hello?” Diane asked.
“I’ll come over there,” Brie said. “Bring breakfast to you.”
“That’s really nice of you, but you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s not a problem. I have the whole morning free, and there happens to be a really great breakfast spot around the corner from his place.”
Diane bit her lip. The other reservation she had was inviting someone to another person’s place when the homeowner wasn’t there. Clearly, though, Brie knew where Kai lived, which meant she’d been there before.
Plus, she was Kai’s wingwoman at work. He certainly trusted her.
“Okay,” Diane decided. “I would love that.”
They hung up, and Diane settled at the breakfast table to sketch out some ideas. Nothing seemed right, though. Whether it was due to a creative slump or everything on her mind, she didn’t know.
By the time Brie arrived, Diane was halfway to believing throwing her sketchbook in the trash and giving up painting altogether would be the most productive thing to do.
“How’s it going?” Brie asked, taking two breakfast burritos from a paper bag.
“It’s been better.”
“Do you know where the plates are?”
“In the cabinet over the dishwasher.” Diane pointed.
So even though Brie knew where Kai lived, she wasn’t intimately familiar with the place. Diane abhorred jealousy, but she’d wondered briefly if Brie and Kai had a past that went beyond the professional. It seemed plausible, since they were both attractive and young and spent a lot of time together due to work.
Since Brie didn’t know where things were in the apartment, though, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Here we go.” Brie put two plates on the table and rubbed her hands together. “And I’m going to find the bathroom.”
“Oh, it’s…” Diane pointed, ready to tell her that she’d passed the front bathroom on her way in. Brie had already walked into the living room, though.
Oh, well. There were four bathrooms. She’d find one soon enough.
Diane’s phone pinged with a text from her dad about some upcoming jobs. Sighing, she put the phone down. She’d read the whole text later. Right then, she wanted to have breakfast and talk about something—anything—that didn’t bring her angst.
“Okay.” Brie clapped her hands, back from the bathroom, and took a seat at the table. “What are you going to paint in here?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet.” She tried not to sigh. “I’m hitting a block.”
“I know.” Brie unwrapped her burrito. “Paint a picture of Kai.”
“Cute idea,” Diane said and laughed. “But he’s nowhere near narcissistic enough for that.”
“It would certainly be quite the surprise.” She took a bite of her food. “So. Anything new since I saw you last? It’s been, what? Twelve hours?”
They both laughed, but Diane seriously considered telling her about the pregnancy test. It would feel good to share the news with someone, maybe even get excited with someone.
Before she said anything, though, she remembered how strong her initial desire to make Kai the first to know was.
“No,” she said with a smile. “Nothing new.”
“Well, I have something new. You remember that coffee heir guy I went out with last week?”
“Of course. He told you he was good to the last drop.” Diane laughed so hard she almost dropped her burrito. “I’ll probably remember that till the day I die.”
Brie rolled her eyes. “Ugh. He texted me after you left last night.”
“Oh my God, I can’t wait to hear this.”
For the next fifteen minutes, they laughed as Brie recounted her exchange with Rich Coffee Boy. It felt